NY Dept of Ed spending nearly a billion on consultant contracts while laying off teachers

[Hannah Bell]

Last week, when the Mayor’s Executive Budget was unveiled, I asked Budget Director Mark Page for details about the enormous amounts of money that the Department of Education (DOE) spends on consultants. He could not give me an adequate response. So I did my own research and what I found was astonishing: DOE is increasing its spending this year on outside consultants, a $54.4 million increase or 6% gain from FY 2011 levels, as part of a whopping $982,269,859 expenditure. At the same time, it is moving ahead with plans to lay off more than 6,000 teachers.

The DOE’s plans are typically presented in opaque language in budget documents, with little or no explanation, and therefore gathering this data is extremely challenging. I believe we can save all these jobs, at no extra cost to taxpayers, and the answer is smack dab in the Mayor’s budget. But it requires the Department of Education to come clean with New York residents about its budget and listen to parents across the City when they voice concerns about our schools. You can learn more about our analysis in this story in the NY Daily News. I am demanding answers from the DOE and will keep you posted on this situation.

http://perdidostreetschool.blogspot.com/2011/05/stringer-doe-spends-982269859-on.html

"mayoral control MUST be wrested from Bloomberg's crooked oligarch hands."

[dkf]

1. I googled NY DOE consultant and a bunch of jobs popped up.

It seems like legit jobs including proctors testing teachers to see who should be promoted to principal, psychiatrists reviewing teachers requests for leave and disability, parent link liaisons, analysts to handle proposals for virtual learning, etc. Even the consultant who got arrested for stealing had a legit job of tech consultant.

Surely NYC needs some of these positions or they will have to farm it out anyway.

[druidity33]

2. Perhaps the point

is that teachers should be filling those jobs, not 'consultants'?

:shrug:

[dkf]

3. Psychiatrist? Proctor to oversee teachers who take tests? RFP coordinators?

Doesn't sound like it is in a teachers range of expertise.

When the topic first came up I assumed the consultants were all doing reform curriculum or something and maybe we don't need a lot of that now. But that doesn't seem to be the case.

[druidity33]

5. Well, my Dad was a teacher...

and he has proctored tests for other teachers. My impression is that consultancy work is often used so as not to have to employ people full time. How many of these professionals who were hired as consultants were formerly teachers? How many jobs that hired a Psychiatrist could have used a school counselor instead? My wife does RFP work in the Green Building sector and it's a bitch, but they have Staff-people who do that at her company. Can these RFPs not be filed by Staff-people within the School Admin?

At near a Billion dollars, it just needs to have more specific transparency. Otherwise the teachers are right to feel shafted.

:shrug:

[dkf]

6. Don't see why a teacher can't apply for the job should they so desire.

But as with any other job the most qualified should be picked.

I doubt this is the posters point though. She is adamantly against the reformers and I am thinking she saw the consultants as mostly aiding that endeavor.

In earlier posts on this topic she also thought the positions were being used to reward Bloomberg's cronies.

[Hannah Bell]

10. they are *already* employing full-time people who could do those jobs. & firing them.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

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[Roadie70]

4. It's a twisted world we live in...

We pay taxes to pay for people to take away the things we pay our taxes to provide for us. It's lunacy.

[DainBramaged]

7. Unrec for mayor bashing....

[druidity33]

8. Bloomberg? Or any mayor? nt.

[Hannah Bell]

11. unlike teachers, the mayor/dictator deserves this bashing, & more.

[DainBramaged]

12. You must think you're a saint then?

So sad when you have a bad day you attack friends....

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. You're defending Bloomberg?

[DainBramaged]

14. Of course not

scan GD